Cycling France

My husband and I used this book about five years ago to tour the Loire region. We have traveled a fair amount but never on bike before this trip. This book gave us a plan of how to do that. (Just the information about bikes on trains made the book worth getting.) We added a little cycling to the beginning of our trip and split some of the rides so we could sightsee more. It's emphasis on backwoods ways of getting into and out of towns was fantastic to help us avoid traffic. We loved seeing all kinds of places we would never have encountered if we hadn't picked up this book. We paired it with the Cadogan Loire Guide for interesting background about where we were visiting and the lodging section photocopied out of some other guide. I wish they would update it. I tore most of the extra pages out of it (for areas we weren't going to) before our first trip. Glad I saved them. We will use it again this year in Brittany but not without a Michelin map as a back up since it's now so old.

Six of us used this book this past June for a nine day trip to the Dordogne region of France. The book is indispensable for do it yourself travel. It tells you everything you need to know regarding the nuts and bolts of putting a trip like this togethter. The suggested routes, restaurants, and hotels were all excellent. I would suggest another book to supplement this one as far as detailed information about the sites is concerned.

As of October 2001, this appears to be the best book available on the subject of bike touring in France. Neither Karen & Terry Whitehill's nor Jerry Simpson's books come even close to being as comprehensive as this book. The best thing about this book is all of the useful logistical information it provides. For example, the authors thoroughly document how to get out of Paris with your bike (both from Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports). They also explain the SNCF's fairly unfriendly policy with respect to bikes on trains. And in typical Lonely Planet fashion, they also document the myriad of important details for survival in France, such as how to make a telephone call and how much to tip. With respect to the actual tour documentation, this book does a good job. There are tour choices in all regions of the country including Corsica. Routes are well documented and the road choices seemed pretty reasonable. Cue sheets are provided with good distance information between all intermediate points. Some tours have elevation profiles included. I would have liked to have seen a bit more information about food and lodging availability--particularly in the intermediate towns.The truth about cyling in France is that the bike touring part is really easy. Unless you are worried about hills (in which case you should stay in the Loire), all you need is a Michelin map. The color scheme tells you all you need to know about route choices (seek out the white roads, and green highlights mean scenic routes). You can usually find some place to stay and eat in any town and if you can't, you can usually find another town a few kilometers down the road. All of France is wonderful for riding, so you really don't need a book to lay out a tour for you. What you do need is information telling you how to get around with your bike and how to survive once you are over there. This book does that exceptionally well.

With this book, you find the most interesting roads to ride on. In addition, you will also find nice stories of professionals who ride these roads - experiences on what to do & what NOT to do. So, whether you come to france, or stay at home, with this book, you'll have your own tour de france in your room!